Airmen deployed to maintain the U-2 Dragon Lady for its mission over Southwest Asia have amassed more than 155 consecutive launches of the high-flying reconnaissance aircraft without a maintenance-related cancellation. The crews of the 99th Aircraft Maintenance Unit from Beale AFB, Calif., perform “day in and day out,” with “awesome teamwork,” said MSgt. Craig Van Valkenburgh, the 99th AMU production supervisor.
Facing competition from fast-growing startups, Lockheed Martin is speeding up production of an “affordable, scalable” hypersonic glide body, dubbed the Next Generation Glide Body, the firm said in a June 24 release.